Doppelgänger
and Elena Gilbert.]] A Petrova Doppelgänger is a term used to describe two women of the Petrova family line, known as Katherine Pierce and Elena Gilbert who look exactly alike. They are both descendants from Tatia. History According to legend, centuries ago when vampires and werewolves wreaked havoc upon the Aztecs, a powerful shaman used a moonstone and the sacrifice of Petrova blood to cast a curse on them. This was known as The Sun and The Moon Curse: (Making vampires powerless against the sun, and rendering werewolves unable to transform unless there is a full moon.) The legend says that if the curse was lifted by a vampire, then the werewolves would be stuck servants of the moon forever. But if the curse was broken by a werewolf they would be able to turn at will and remain in control, where-as the vampires would then be slaves to the sun forever. As it turned out, the legend of the Sun and Moon Curse was actually made up by Klaus in order to get both the werewolves and the vampires to search for the Moonstone and the Petrova Doppelgänger. The Petrova Doppelgangers were specifically created as a means to breaking the real curse. The real curse was on Klaus, a Hybrid. A hybrid is more powerful than any single vampire or any werewolf, therefore witches (the servants of nature) cursed Klaus forcing his werewolf side to become dormant. Klaus' intent was to break the curse and become the creator of a new supernatural race. A race that would threaten both the werewolf and vampire clans. Breaking the Curse To break the curse a witch needs to channel the power of the full moon to release the spell from the moonstone that is binding the curse. Both a vampire and a werewolf need to be sacrificed at the birthplace of the doppelganger and then have their blood spilled on the Moonstone. However, they have to be killed in the way that is normal for them to get killed, werewolves have to get their heart taken out, vampires would get a wooden stake to the heart and lastly, the doppelgängers blood has to be drunken until the point of death. Original Petrova The Original Petrova is mentioned by some of the original family members during the second and third seasons. The first reference of she is presented in the episode Klaus, where Elijah is presented to Katerina Petrova. Elijah says: "I'm sorry, remind me of someone". In the same episode, Elijah mentions that he and Klaus were in love with someone (it is very likely to be the Original Petrova). In the episode The Reckoning, Rebekah mentions her. Rebekah says: "The Original was much more pretty". Known Doppelgangers The only known doppelgängers are Katherine, a vampire and Elena, a mortal woman and since the blood of the Petrova doppelganger (not just a Petrova descendant) is needed, Elena is the only one who can break the curse, being as it is, that Katherine is technically dead and therefore, her blood is not useful to break the curse. 'Katerina Petrova (Katherine Pierce)' In 1492, the first Petrova doppelganger, Katerina Petrova, still a human, was captured by Klaus. She knew that she was going to die, so she tricked Trevor, one of Klaus' servants, into helping her escape. Katherine was clever; she knew that if she became a vampire, she'd be useless to Klaus. So with Rose's blood in her system, she hung herself and came back as a vampire. In return for her escape, Klaus made her suffer by killing all her family in Bulgaria, thinking that the doppelganger would never appear again. What Klaus didn't know was that Katerina had a child out of wedlock that was kept secret and this child continued the bloodline of the Petrova family, leading to the birth of Elena Gilbert, the second Petrova doppelganger. Tired from running, Katherine intended to make a deal with Klaus by giving him the ingredients he needed to break the curse in exchange for her freedom. She planned to hand over Elena (Petrova doppelganger), the Moonstone, Caroline (vampire), Tyler (werewolf) and Bonnie (witch). 'Elena Gilbert' Once Klaus learned of the second Petrova doppelganger he came to Mystic Falls, he kidnapped Katherine and temporarily took over Alaric's body. As with Katherine, Klaus is responsible for the death of Elena's family. He turned Aunt Jenna into a vampire and killed her for the ritual. Unlike with Katherine, Klaus successfully killed (Elena) the doppelganger and breaks the curse. Fortunately for Elena, John had Bonnie perform a spell that bound Elena's life-force to his. This spell brought Elena back to life but in return killed John. Myths *In some traditions, when a doppelgänger is seen by a person's friends or relatives, the contact prophesies illness or danger - while a person seeing their own doppelgänger is an omen of death. *In other traditions, a doppelgänger is connected with the person copied - sometimes causing the feelings of injuries between the original and the doppelganger. For example, if the doppelganger is injured, the other person will also be hurt or feel pain (similar to when Lucy uses a spell to bind Elena with Katherine in Masquerade). Trivia * Both doppelgangers have their birthday the same day, which is June 22nd. * The Petrova Doppelgangers are the only supernatural species that don't have powers or abilities known. Notes *In the series, a doppelganger is a supernatural being, so the Gilbert rings have no effect on them. *There's a possibility that Nina Dobrev has 3 different characters and roles -- the other role being the original Petrova who was used in binding the curse. *In the books, Katherine von Swartzchild is also considered the first doppelganger (evil, crazy, barbaric, inhumane, vicious, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, wicked, murderous, vengeful, jealous, manipulative, malicious and hungry for power and revenge) with Elena destined to be the second while she remains human. *A person and a doppelganger will look identical in appearance but the differences stem from their rearing and community standards (such as their expressions, speech, reason, and connections with others). *In an interview during the second season, Julie Plec says: "''We have our little Charlotte Petrova character in our heads that we laugh and joke about in the writers room. Whether we decide to go back to year 1200 and meet her, or maybe she was trollin’ around World War II Germany or Woodstock in the ’60s, who knows. It’s something that we have fun with, but it’s not in our canon as of yet.” ''However, this was not official creation of this character and appearance during the second season. Category:Female Category:Vampire Diaries Characters Category:The Vampire Diaries television series Category:Gilbert Family Category:Featured Articles Category:Supernatural Category:Petrov Family